conjuncture

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree French conjoncturebor. English conjuncture Borrowed from French conjoncture.

1. A combination of events or circumstances; a conjunction; a union.

   “To be sitting, at so pleasant a conjuncture of one's courses, in oneself, by oneself, that I think it will freely be admitted is a way no worse than another, and better than some, of whiling away an instant of leisure.”

2. A set of circumstances causing a crisis; a juncture.

   “[I]n his later years, he [James II of England] repeatedly, at conjunctures such as have often inspired timorous and delicate women with heroic courage, showed a pusillanimous anxiety about his personal safety.”